Wicked

Leila really does love musicals! Her knowledge of musical theatre has grown a lot over the last year. She loves Wicked currently, so when Chris and I heard that it was coming to Seattle, we knew we needed to look into tickets! We surprised her by telling her after the soccer game that we were going to be coming up to the city the very next morning to see  Wicked! She was beside herself with excitement! The show was, of course, amazing!! 

Seattle Saturday

Our first weekend home we found ourselves headed to Seattle! We had signed Leila up to attend a Sounders Soccer Camp and as a perk they offered tickets at $18 per seat. So, we bought three tickets to see the match against the Vancouver Whitecaps. Before we went to the match, we spent the morning at the Seattle Klondike Gold Rush National Museum. It was a great place! We learned a lot and had a fun time exploring! 

Panning for gold. 

Leila earned a junior ranger badge and got to sign her name in Ranger Book. 

Then it was time to head for the stadium. Our seats were perfect for a quidditch match! We were way up but they turned out to be super seats with a view of the entire pitch! 

Too bad the Sounders lost! We had a great time even though our team didn't play all that well. Next time, guys!!

Backyard Potions

One of our first activities when we got home was playing in our yard. Or should I say our hay field?!? With the hot, hot temps we have been having all summer, our yard is brown, brown and brown! The dry, brown grass didn't stop us from having fun though. Leila and Chris played Harry Potter, making potions and gathering ingredients around the yard. 

Portland

Finally, after five weeks and five states, we were heading home! We stopped at Mom and Jim's for the night and a visit with all our Portland family. ❤️ Amanda brought Bennett over and we all enjoyed watching him and Leila together. Leila loved reading to him and helping to keep him happy! 

Bennett loved his "Guy Time" with Uncle Chris! 

Oh, these two babes make me happy! 

Crater Lake National Park

Our last two days in Ashland were spent packing and cleaning up the house. We left town on Sunday morning and decided to head northeast to visit Crater Lake. We went there summer, but there is always lots to see in a National Park! After five weeks of hot weather, it sure seemed chilly to us at the lake! Leila had to bundle up!

Last summer when we visited, it was overcast and we really didn't get a chance to see the famous crystal blue water of Crater Lake. It was grey tinted last year, but not this year! 

Leila earned both a junior ranger badge and patch! She had to attend a ranger-led talk to earn the patch. The ranger told us all that Crater Lake is so deep that the Statue of Liberty stacked on top of the Eiffel Tower stacked on top of the Washington Monument would all be submerged in the lake!